Around the world in three magical days

By Bruce ElderFebruary 26 2003

Hand it to her ... Colombian singer Toto La Momposina, on the bill at Womadelaide next month.

Can there really be anything more magical than this? An arc of huge Moreton Bay fig trees spreading across a flat, grassy park at the edge of a botanic garden. A full moon high in the sky. A night, approaching 12, when the late-summer air is still dry and balmy, with just a hint of a breeze. A small, friendly crowd, drunk on exotic music. And a stage where a huge man, surrounded by supporting musicians, is singing an ancient piece of qawwali (Sufi devotional music) which goes on for 20, 30, 40 minutes.

This was the first performance of the late, great qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the Friday night of the first Womadelaide Festival in 1993. It was a defining moment which, for those who were there, has been the benchmark by which all other Womadelaides have been measured. Amazingly, each subsequent celebration has, at some point, reached those first, dizzying heights.

The simple truth about Womadelaide is that, after 10 years, it is clearly the best music festival in Australia. The reason for its success is a sublime, accidental confluence of forces.

WOMAD, short for World of Music, Arts and Dance, was founded in the UK in 1982 under the enthusiastic leadership of rock singer Peter Gabriel. It was more than just a festival. A record label, Realworld, was launched and a commitment established to music beyond Western pop and rock - predominantly folk music from the Third World enriched by First World production technology and, occasionally, inspired musical hybrids.

A decade later, after festivals in Scandinavia, Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada and Japan, the WOMAD concept arrived in Australia. Initially an adjunct to the Adelaide Arts Festival, it was bankrolled by the South Australian government. This meant that important Third World musicians - which included performers like Senegal's Youssou N'Dour and Mali's Salif Keita - could be enjoyed by local audiences. ");document.write("

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It quickly became a regular event and never disappointed. Such was the quality of the musicians that world music fans began travelling to Adelaide from across Australia and New Zealand.

This year marks Womadelaide's 10th anniversary and the bill - from March 7 to 9 - offers an excess of tantalising live performances.

In the event's early years, there was a belief that world music could not be digested by wide audiences unless presented as a musical sugar-coated pill. It was thought that N'Dour and Khan would attract crowds only if the line-up also featured, say, Crowded House.

That orthodoxy has been abandoned. This year, eclecticism - with no concessions to pop audiences - seems to be the theme. A staggering 350 performers from 31 countries will appear, and to argue that there are definable major drawcards among them is to misunderstand that this is a celebration of the universality of music, not an awards ceremony.

For instance, those wanting to experience the best of Aboriginal culture have, at one end, the traditional Anangu Pitjantjatjara women and, at the other, Kerrianne Cox's country-blues mix and the Bloody Marys, who include Lou Bennett and Amy Saunders from Tiddas.

Anyone interested in syntheses of techno and world music will be eager to see the Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali group enriched by the pulsating presence of the Temple of Sound techno duo. And South American and Caribbean styles are fused in the music of Colombian singer Toto La Momposina.

African-music lovers will, as always, be well catered for. One of the highlights will be Cheikh Lo, who mixes reggae and funk with traditional music from his native Senegal. Also look out for West African percussion outfit Badenya les Freres Coulibaly and Papa Kwasi & The Iriehights, a reggae group fronted by a one-time drummer for the king of Ghana.

Mainstream modern folk is represented by Cara Dillon, the current darling of Irish folk, Ireland's Andy White, Greece's Apodimi Compania, the Scottish group Shooglenifty and local folk-rockers the Waifs.

Beyond the sounds are dance troupes, workshops, storytellers, lots of activities for children and, as always, an amazing array of food stalls.

The music is great. But it is the ambience, the sense of passion, joy and human harmony which makes Womadelaide so special.

For information on packages to Womadelaide ring 1800632788 or visit www.travelworldgeelong.com.